HINDOOSTAN, 
and recommended an oath by the water of the Ganges 
and the leaves of tulafi in a little velfel of brafs, or by 
the book Herivanfa, or the Hone falgram, or by the hal¬ 
lowed ponds or bafons 5 all which oaths are ul'ed at Be¬ 
nares on different occafions. When the parties obftinately 
refufed to try the iffue by any one of the modes recom¬ 
mended, and infilled on a trial by the hot ball, the ma- 
giflrates and Pundits of the court were ordered to gratify 
their willies; and, fetting afide thole forms of trial, in 
which there could be only a aiftant fear of death, or lofs 
of property, as the juft punilhment of perjury by the lure, 
yet flow, judgment of heaven, to perform the ceremony 
of ordeal agreeably to the Dherma Saftra. But, it was 
not till after mature deliberation for four months, that a 
regular mandate iflued for a trial by the red-hot ball; 
and this was at length granted for four reafon's : firft, be- 
caufe there was no other way of condemning or abfolving 
the perfon accufed; fecondly, becaufe both parties tvere 
Hindoos, and this mode of trial was lpeciallv appointed 
in the Dherma Saftra by the ancient lawgivers; thirdly, 
becaufe this ordeal is praftifed in the dominions of the 
Hindoo rajahs ; and fourthly, becaufe it might be ufeful 
to inquire how it was poflible for the heat of fire to be 
refilled, and for the hand, that held it, to avoid being 
burned. An order was accordingly fent to the Pundits 
of the court and of Benares to this eftefl : “ Since the 
parties accufing and accufed are both Hindoos, and will 
not confent to any trial but that by the hot ball, let the 
ordeal defired be duly performed in the manner prefcribed 
by the Mitaclhera, or commentary on Yagyawalcya.” 
When preparations were made for the"trial, A’li Ibrahim 
Khan, attended by all the learned profelfors, by the offi¬ 
cers of the court, the fpahis of captain Hogan’s batta¬ 
lion, and many inhabitants of Benares, went to the place 
prepared, and endeavoured to diffuade-the appellor from 
requiring the accufed to be tried by fire, adding; “ if his 
hand be not burned, you fhall certainly be imprifoned.” 
The accufer, not deterred by this menace, periifted in de¬ 
manding the trial; the ceremony, therefore, was thus con¬ 
ducted in the prefence of me Ali Ibrahim Khan. 
“The Pundits of the court and the city, having wor- 
Ihipped the God of Knowledge, and prefented their obla¬ 
tion of clarified butter to the fire, formed nine circles of 
cow-dung on the ground ; and, having bathed the appel¬ 
lee in the Ganges, brought him with his clothes wet; 
when, to remove all fufpicion of deceit, they walked his 
hands with, pure water; then, having written a ftate of 
the cafe, and the words of the mantra , on a palmyra-leaf, 
they tied it on his head ; and put into his hands, which 
they opened and joined together, feven leaves of pippal, 
feven of jend, feven blades of darbha grafs, a few flowers, 
and fome barley moiftened with curds, which they faftened 
with feven threads of raw white cotton. After this they 
made the iron ball red-hot, and, taking it up with tongs, 
placed it in his hands ; he walked with it ftep by ftep, the 
lpace of three gaz and a half, through each of the feven 
intermediate rings, and threw the ball into the ninth, 
where it burnt the grafs, that had been left in it. He next, 
to prove his veracity, rubbed out fome rice from the hulk 
between his hands ; which were afterwards examined, and 
were fo far from being burned, that not even a blifter was 
raifed on either of them. Since it is the nature of fire to 
burn, the officers of the court, and people of Benares, 
near five hundred of whom attended the ceremony, were 
aftoniftied at the event; and this well-wilher to mankind 
was perfeftly amazed. It occurred to his apprehenfion, 
that probably the frefli leaves and other things, which, as 
it has been mentioned, were placed on the hands of the 
accufed, had prevented their being burned ; befides that, 
the time was but Ihort between his taking the ball and 
throwing it down"; yet it is pofitively declared in the 
Dherma Saftra, and in the written opinions of the moft re- 
fpeCtable Pundits, that the hand of a man who fpeaks 
truth cannot be burned ; and Ali Ibrahim Khan certainly 
147 
faw with his own eyes, as many others alfo faw with theirs, 
that the hands of the appellee in this caule were unhurt 
by the fire ; he was conlequently dilcharged ; but, that 
men might in future be deterred trom demanding the trial 
by ordeal, the appellor was committed for a week.” 
The other inftance, was the following -. 
“ A Brahmin, named Rilhifwara Bhatta, accufed one 
Ramdayal, a linen-painter, of having ftolen his goods. 
Ramdayal pleaded not guilty ; and, after much altercation, 
confented to be tried, as it had been propoled, by the vef- 
fel of boiling oil. This well-wiflrer to mankind, Ali Ibra¬ 
him Khan, advifed the Pundits of the court to prevent, 
if poflible, that mode of trial; but, fince the parties infilled 
on it, an ordeal by hot oil, according to the Saftra, was 
awarded for the fame reafons which prevailed in regard 
to the trial by the ball. 
“ When Ganefa had been worfnipped, and the lioma 
prefented, according to the Saftra, they fent for this well- 
wilher to mankind ; who, attended by the two daroghas 
of the Divani and Faujdari courts, the cotwal of the town, 
the other officers of the court, and moft of the inhabitant,- 
of Benares, went to the place of trial; where he laboured 
to difluade Ramdayal and his father from fubmitting to the 
ordeal; and apprized them, that, if the hand of the ac¬ 
cufed lhould be burned, he would be compelled to pay the 
value of the goods ftolen, and his character would be dif- 
graced in every company. Ramdayal would not defill; 
he thruft his hand into the velfel of boiling oil, and was 
dreadfully burned. The opinion of the Pundits was then 
taken ; and they were unanimous, that, by the burning of 
his hand, his guilt was eftablilhed, and he bound to pay 
Rilhifwara Bhatta the price of what he had ftolen ; but, 
if the fum exceeded five hundred aftirafis, his hand mull 
be cut off by an exprefs law in the Saftra; and a mulCt 
alfo mull be impofed on him according to his circum- 
itances.” 
After a ftvifl arid critical inveftigation of the “ Inftitutes 
of Hindoo Law,” fir William Jones concludes with the 
following general and judicious remarks : 
“ The Hindoo civil and religious code certainly abounds ■ 
with many beauties, which need not be pointed out; and 
with many blemiihes, which cannot be juilified or palli¬ 
ated. It is a fyftem of defpotifm and prieftcraft, both in¬ 
deed limited by law, but artfully conlpiring to give mu¬ 
tual fupport, though with mutual checks; it is filled 
with llrange conceits in metaphyfics and natural phi- 
lolophy, with idle fuperftitions, and with a fcheme of 
theology moft obfcurely figurative, and confequently lia¬ 
ble to dangerous mifconception ; it abounds with minute 
and childiih formalities, with ceremonies generally ab- 
furd and often ridiculous; the punifliments are partial 
and fanciful; for fome crimes, dreadfully cruel; for 
others, reprehenfibly flight; and the very morals, though 
rigid enough on the "whole, are in fome inflances un¬ 
accountably relaxed ; neverthelefs, a fpirit of devotion, 
of benevolence to mankind, and of amiable tendernefs to 
all fentient creatures, pervades the whole code ; the ftyle 
of it has a certain auftere majefty, that founds like the 
language of legiflation, and extorts a refpeftful aw r e ; the 
fentiments of independence on all beings but God, and 
the harfli admonition, even to kings, are truly noble; 
and the many panegyrics on the Gayatri , the mother, as 
it is called, of the Veda, prove the author to have adored 
(not the vifible material fun, but) that divine and in¬ 
comparably greater Light, to ufe the words of the moft 
venerable text in the Indian fcripture, which illumines 
all, delights all, from which all proceed, to which all mull 
return, and which alone can irradiate (not our vifual or¬ 
gans merely, hut our fouls and) our intellects.” 
FAKEERS, or DEVOTEES. 
Of all the wretched beings in the fhape of man, who 
contribute to put human reafon out of countenance, or 
dilgrace the police of any country, by a life of total in¬ 
utility, 
